Gemstones

Beryl

There are quite a few types of beryl found in Portugal, the two most famous and the ones I will be talking about are aquamarine and emerald. All variants of beryl have the same chemical formula of Be₃Al₂(Si₆O₁₈) though they have different impurities giving them their colours.

Emerald

Emerald is probably the most famous variant of beryl, it is green and is found rarely and mostly in northern Portugal.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine is another relatively famous variant of beryl, it is less rarely found then emerald and is mostly found between Viseu and Guarda

Quartz

Quartz is one of the most commonly found minerals in Portugal and is usually quite boring but it can make beautiful crystals and has many coloured variants.

Normal quartz

Normal quartz is found nearly everywhere in Portugal though crystals such as this are much rarer.

Rose quartz

Rose quartz is much rarer then normal quartz, like beryl it is found in northern Portugal and between Viseu and Guarda.

Smoky quartz

Smoky quartz is quite common in Portugal though significantly less common than normal quartz, its found in many places in the North and in Beira.

Many of the images on this page where not from Portugal as it is very difficult to find images of certain minerals from Portugal that I am legally permitted to use.